WY to AZ route and stops

We just left Cody, WY and did a day trip (from Cody) up to the eastern entrance of Yellowstone. Fall colors have already arrived up there and it is beautiful. We were surprised how many tourists were up there. Many of the places to eat were already shut down so take food with you. Cody has some great restaurants (a great BBQ place). There was a light dusting of snow on the upper mountains inside Yellowstone (up by Tower Junction). If they close down the entrance roads due to snow they have flashing yellow signs on Hwy 20 going west that will alert you. When we left Cody we headed south down through Thermopolis (a neat little town). If you take that route south you will travel through the Wind River Canyon which is absolutely beautiful. Lander is a lovely town too! Thru Riverton and Rock Springs following Hwy 191 into Utah (Flaming Gorge) where again the Fall colors are spectacular (already). Wyoming is a beautiful state! Congratulations on your retirement. Relax & Enjoy. Good luck in Phoenix and welcome to the snow bird time of your life ;-) Quartzite is a kick in the pants. Cattail Cove at Lake Havasu (a state park) is great. Oh, and the Grand Canyon - northern entrance may be closed by the time you reach there - but southern entrance is typically open. It's beautiful there when it snows but no fun to drive in. Hope you find your special place in Phoenix. They have a plethora of rv parks! And if you have difficulty right IN Phoenix area search some of the outlying areas - say out by Wickenburg. Travel safe! Enjoy!! Like others have said, Wyoming can get a snow storm early. I've seen it snow in August!

I've driven Sylvan Pass a dozen times or so (the road between Cody and Fishing Bridge), and you'll see snow & ice up there in July and August.

October 10th is when the majority of facilities are shut down, and some start in mid-September. It might be a risk, but it's worth visiting the park when the tourists are gone.

Just be observant of the weather forecasts. It's an awfully long drive back to Cody if you happen to get snowed out, and that entrance isn't open year round.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Stay off the Interstates and spend more time on US and primary state highways. Reduce your travel time. Leave campground 9-10 in morning and start looking by 2. We use many gravel pit and federal campgrounds.
Are you old enough for the senior America The beautiful pass? saves many dollars to spend on local sites and local cuisine.

If you go to YNP better enter on the south side that late.
I saw some news for 2022:
Fishing Bridge is open but does not accept Access/Old age cards
There are two reservation systems, some park facilities are on the usual res.gov site but others on Yellowstone lodges system. Fishing bridge for one.
All campgrounds are no reservation only

The usual scenic route would be up HWY 191 IIRC tho it isn't all that scenic thru WY, mostly open rolling dry land.

I'm retiring in August, so lots and lots of time. My work keeps me running at 190 mph with my hair on fire, and it's my wife's biggest concern with me. We have driven as much as 11 hours to get to a destination. I'm keeping this huge North America circle to generally under 300 miles travel day.

Not too late to visit Yellowstone. Good time to see and hear elk buggling!Calendar

If you don't get the responses you want, I can move this to "RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions" where people talk more about the destinations instead of this forum where the posts focus on the specific highways and interstates to get from Point A to Point B.

As for your question, how much time do you have for your trip? More time means more destinations.

My kids went to college in WY (UWYO) and winter can come really early there. I've seen snow in September there. And the wind is a constant all year round. We had a wind storm hit us in September and blow one of the windows out of our fiver's bedroom.

It's a gorgeous state though. Lots to see and do. You just have to be patient and flexible. Be ready to quickly change your plans when the weather changes.

From our experience last year, Cody rolls up the sidewalks on 9/30. We got there a day or two after that, outrunning a blizzard from Gros Ventre Campground in Tetons and found one CG still in the process of shutting down. They let us stay overnight. There was 8 inches on snow on the roads in the park and the snowplows were active.
It looked like the State Park CG may have still been open as we drove past, the one to the west of Cody. Not sure tho.
We stayed the last four days of the season in Gros Ventre, they were closing down as we left.